


Wings and Roots

by phanfan8485



Category: Actor RPF, Lee Pace - Fandom, The Hobbit RPF
Genre: Eventual Romance, F/M, Flirting, Fluff and Smut, Friendship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-04
Updated: 2016-09-22
Packaged: 2018-04-24 17:11:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4928119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phanfan8485/pseuds/phanfan8485
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Time to see what is running through Lee's mind...</p>
          </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“And Steph, before I forget, do you want me to grab you anything while I’m out?” I asked over the phone. It was a Saturday, so it meant it was time for my weekly trip to the farmer’s market. Every now and then my roommate and best friend Steph would join me, but she had to pay an impromptu trip to her office this morning.

“I’m supposed to go to Gina and Ted’s tomorrow night for dinner and want to bring some kind of appetizer. Um… could you get me one of those breads with the olive oil, garlic, and tomatoes? Crap, I can never remember what they’re called. Something with an ‘f’ I think.”

“A focaccia?”

“Yeah, that’s it!”

“Sure, no problem. I’ll stop by Francesca’s. Theirs are the best.”

“Thanks Ellie, you rock.”

“Haha, you’re welcome! See you in a few hours.”

As I stepped out of our apartment in the East Village, I couldn’t help but admire what a perfect September morning it was- jean weather with a slight breeze and the faint smell of autumn in the air. This was one of the things I loved best about New York City. Growing up in a more rural part of the state, September, October, and early November were always great because of roadside stands and getting to go to my uncle’s farm for fresh corn and picking out the best pumpkins for Halloween. Plus, if my sister and I were really good, my parents would sometimes drive down to where there was a large Amish population so we could get homemade whoopee pies and pumpkin bread. I heard a low grumble coming from my stomach and had to remind myself _Ellie, stop reminiscing about food or you’ll end up eating everything you buy_.

I wasn’t able to shake it entirely by the time I got to Union Square, so I grabbed a hot cider and pumpkin muffin before setting off to get everything on my list. Thankfully I had gotten there early and was able to get most of what I needed before it got too hectic.

Pears? Check.  
Empire Apples? Check.  
Granny Smith Apples? Check.  
Corn? Check.  
Kale? Check.  
Brussels Sprouts? Check.  
Focaccia? Check.

All that was missing was my weekly bouquet for the kitchen table.

My favorite place was along the north end of the park- Meadow Farms and as soon as I spotted their familiar green tent, I strolled over to finish my morning errands. Before I had the chance to peruse the baskets and buckets, Ben, who owned the farm, eagerly waved me over. He reminded me of my grandpa- always telling corny jokes, always willing to tell stories about the ‘good old days’, and always talking about his grandkids. Today was no exception. His youngest daughter, Kelly and her husband, Ryan just welcomed a baby boy and Grandpa Ben was grinning from ear to ear as he showed me the photos. After chatting with Ben for a few minutes, I looked around and before long spotted the perfect bunch: pink gerbera daisies, white stephanotis, burgundy dahlias, and orange roses. I bent down to grab them and felt a soft nudge against my arm, so I turned just in time to see a white pointer poking its nose into my flowers. I laughed thinking that he was likely looking for a post-breakfast snack.

As I reached out to pet the dog, I noticed something pretty significant was missing- there was a leash attached to the dog’s collar, but there was no human holding the other end of the leash. To try to make sure I could get him back to his owner, I went to check his tag when I heard someone call out “Carl!” Upon hearing the name, my new four-legged friend proceeded to lay on his belly and put his nose under his front paws.

“Ah, so you must I be Carl” I said to the dog and called back to the voice I had just heard, “He’s over here”. Within a matter of seconds, a man donning a Yankees hat and aviators came over and squatted down next to me. He turned to the pointer who slowly slunk towards his owner before rolling over, indicating that he wanted his belly rubbed.

Trying to suppress a smile, the stranger turned to me, “I’m so sorry he got away from me, I hope he didn’t bother you. He’s really mischievous and thinks people are here just to pet and feed him.” He then stood and offered me a hand up.

“No, not at all. Other than trying to take a bite out of these” I replied, lifting my flowers. “But hey, they look kind of tasty, you never know.”

Handing over Carl’s leash, I was struck by how tall the man was. At 5’9”, neither I nor my friends considered me short, but for the first time in a long time, I actually felt petite.

The flush of embarrassment slowly faded from the stranger’s cheeks as he pointed to my bouquet, “Please let me take care of these for you. It’s the least I can do to repay you for putting up with this looney tune” and proceeded to look at Carl who was sitting and wagging his tail quite contentedly. Refusing to take no for an answer, despite my insisting that it wasn’t necessary, he paid for my flowers. After thanking him and giving Carl a pat on the head and the last of my pumpkin muffin, we parted ways and I headed home. On my way, I turned my attention to the next bullet on her to do list: whipping up a giant batch of chocolate chip cookies to drop off at the guys’ flag football game on Monday evening.


	2. Chapter 2

When I got back to the apartment, I turned on my laptop and pulled up Spotify. As I was putting away my farmers market finds, Stephanie got home. Steph and I met at undergrad orientation and have been best friends ever since. She’s now a fashion editor at Vanity Fair magazine, a job that comes with a lot of perks, today being no exception.

“So what’s with the garment bags?” I asked as she walked in the door and draped them over the back of our couch.

“I had to go in for Becca to accept the new samples that were coming in and that meant cleaning out some of the older samples. So you know what that means… more for our closets! Come see what they gave me!” Out of the first bag, she pulled a burgundy Ralph Lauren cocktail dress and a beige GUESS cable knit cardigan. There was a white cape dress from Lavish Alice and a brown leather jacket from Alexander Wang. Steph then held up the last bag saying “these are for you”.

I opened the bag and pulled out a black skirted wool coat from Alexander McQueen and an Alaina blue lace and mesh cocktail dress with a white underlay. “Steph, you spoil me! I can’t wait to see you in that Ralph Lauren dress. You should wear that on your date tonight!” She agreed and took the bags upstairs to put in our closets. I finished emptying my bags, found a vase for my flowers, put the kettle on for some tea and went up to my room. After taking off my makeup, tossing my hair up into a ponytail, and changing into some yoga pants and a tee shirt, my phone beeped. I opened it to find a message from my friend Paul:

The guys and I have an extra ticket for the Yankees/Red Sox game tonight. 7:30. Wanna join? -P

Sounds awesome. Grand Central at 6:30? –E

See you then. We’ll be at the giant apple –P

Perfect, that means I’ll have just enough time to help Steph get ready. I went back downstairs, poured my tea, and grabbed Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms. It was the next book on my list and I was determined to make a sizeable dent in it before having to get ready for the game.

**********

“Hey Steph, how’s it going?” I called upstairs.

“Great. Can you just gimme a hand, I don’t know which shoes I should pair with this dress.”

Ten minutes later, the shoe crisis was averted and I started getting dressed for the game. I threw on some jeans, a blue and white striped shirt and my low top black chucks. After putting my hair in a ponytail and making sure I had some cash, an id and my metrocard, I grabbed my red hoodie, threw on my Ray Bans and Red Sox baseball cap and headed out.

By 7:30, Cody, Taylor, Paul and I were at the stadium and had taken our seats, ready for the first pitch. Since I was sitting on the end, I offered to grab beers for everyone.

“Can you grab an extra?” Paul asked, checking his phone, “we invited a guy from our football team and he’s just going through security now”.

“Sure, no problem” I replied and went over to the concessions stand.

When I got back, about 15 minutes later, I overheard an “Oooh he’s smitten!” coming from Paul.

Knowing Paul, Taylor and Cody for years and being given the nickname ‘mama bear’, I had to give them a hard time. “Who’s smitten?” I teased as I came down to the row where we were sitting.

As I passed out the beers, Taylor answered “Lee is”, pointing to the newest member of our group.

Paul continued “yeah, he met a girl this morning at the farmer’s market and hasn’t stopped talking about her since he sat down. Sorry, Ellie, this is Lee. Lee, Ellie.” As Lee blushed from Paul’s comments and stood up to let me let me through, I felt my breath catch in my throat- Lee was the stranger from this morning; same hat, same smile, same towering presence. Paul continued to goad Lee, causing him to turn a brighter shade of crimson “he even bought her flowers” which earned an ‘awww’ from Cody and Taylor.

“So what happened?” I asked. “Just a moment between perfect strangers” he replied. Then with a snicker, “but now, it’s time for baseball and judging by your hat, you’re going to be pretty upset by the end of this game”.

You’d be surprised, I thought while smiling to myself. VERY surprised.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to see what is running through Lee's mind...

When the guys and I planned on the game a few weeks ago, I was really excited- we all play on the same flag football team and I was looking forward to hanging out with them outside of the park. Because of work and everything, I don’t get to hang out with my friends all too much, but Paul, Cody, and Taylor are all great to chat with and help keep me grounded when my mind starts running a mile a minute. Of course, when Carl decided to introduce me to a girl at the farmer’s market this morning, I knew I needed to talk with them about it.

After I got back to my apartment I texted Paul:  
_Fun story from this morning. Carl + running off = meeting an awesome girl. Fill you in tonight –Lee_

About half an hour later I heard back from him:  
_Swag. And heads up our friend Ellie is joining us. No worries, she’s cool –PJ_

Well that puts a bit of a dent in boys’ night, but hopefully we’ll get to chat for a few.  
_Sounds good. Meet you guys there._

Since I still had a few hours to kill, I made myself some tea, pulled out some scripts my manager sent me to check out some prospective projects.

**********

“Shit!” I muttered as I got to the 96th street stop. Not only were the 4, 5, and 6 delayed, but I just missed the last train for the next 20 minutes. There goes my plans for making it by the first pitch. Since I wasn’t going anywhere, I pulled out my phone, put in my headphones and took to cleaning out my inbox and checking my Twitter feed while listening to some random Spotify playlist. Thankfully it didn’t feel like too long when the 4 pulled up so I hopped on, hoping there would be no more delays. By the time I got to Yankee Stadium it was just past 7:30 so I let Paul know that I would be up once I got through security.

“Hey Lee” Cody called as I was walking down to our seats and waved me over “we saved the seat on the end for you, Mr. My Legs are Twenty Feet Long”.

“Thanks, Smalls” I replied and took my seat.

Paul jumped in “Ellie’s grabbing us all beers. In the meantime spill about your morning.”

“Well I was out for a run with Carl and popped over to the Union Square market to see if there was anything good. I found some awesome vegetables and as I’m going to pay for them the idiot just goes and takes off. The guy cashing me out must’ve thought I was nuts because I told him I’d be right back and took off to find the damn dog. I called out his name a couple of times and heard a woman respond that he was over by her. I saw her from a couple of stands away and Carl was sitting next to her, tail wagging and nose in the flowers it looked like she was holding. I crouched down and of course, Carl did his ‘I know you’re mad at me, but I’m cute so rub my belly’. I was so embarrassed- I apologized like crazy and paid for her flowers that Carl apparently tried to eat. And to add insult to injury, she was stunning. I don’t know what it was, maybe because she was so sweet about everything, or her deep blue eyes, but even though she was just wearing jeans and a sweater, I haven’t been able to get her out of my head."  

“Oooh he’s smitten!” said Paul nudging me and before I could say anything, I heard a new voice respond “Who’s smitten?” and turned to see a girl who I can only guess was Ellie standing next to me.

Her hands were full of beers so I helped her pass them down while Taylor called out “Lee is” and pointed at me.

Paul continued “yeah, he met a girl this morning at the farmer’s market and hasn’t stopped talking about her since he sat down.” I turned the same shade of red as he then introduced us. “He even bought her flowers.” And since tonight was obviously ‘let’s embarrass Lee night’, Taylor and Cody had to “awwww” in response. Hooray for first impressions.

On the bright side, Ellie seemed pretty cool about it asking how it turned out after sliding past me and taking her seat and creating a bit of a buffer zone between Paul and I. Taking a second to say something that wouldn’t add more fuel to the fire, I simply said “just a moment between perfect strangers.” To end the wonderfully awkward discussion about my morning, I quickly harassed her about her Red Sox hat. “Taylor is she one of yours?” I asked, pointing out Ellie’s poor choice in baseball teams.

“No. She’s from uh up north where they ride moose, live in igloos and drink Labatts, eh” he replied in his most ridiculous Canadian accent.

At this point, I looked over at Ellie who was doubled over laughing. “You okay?”

“I’m fine. He does this all the time. The running joke is that I’m Canadian since I’m from upstate New York and can ‘See Canada from my house’” she laughed. As we chatted a bit between innings, mostly about how we knew the three crazies on her left, I could see why Paul said she was cool- she was down to earth and had no problem laughing at the guys or herself.

**********

Three hours, nine beers, and half a dozen pretzels later, we all went our separate ways from Grand Central. Even though the Red Sox obliterated the Yankees, I'd call the night a success- I was able to kick back and relax with friends for a few hours and, as I not so casually texted my sister once I was on my own, was, to use Paul's description, "smitten" with two women that day. That and I would get to see Ellie again on Monday at the football game.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the hiatus- I hadn't been feeling Ellie and Lee for a while. Hopefully this chapter makes up for it.   
> And there is some POV switching between Ellie and Lee.

_Sorry, running late. My meeting went longer than expected, but snacks (and me) are en route –E_

_If those cookies don’t show, we’re gonna have a probem –P_

_Glad you’re excited to see me. Ass –E_

I swear, these boys are the exact same as they were when we went to school together. No matter where we were I had to have snacks in my bag, and if I didn’t offer, they decided to venture through it until they found something to eat. Without surprise, they conned me into changing my post-work run on Mondays so I would run at the park where they had their flag football games. Flag football + hungry guys + friend who can cook = Ellie brings snacks on Monday before the game. While this was only week one, I knew that if I didn’t show, they’d probably moan and groan at every possible opportunity about how I didn’t love them because I let them starve. I harass them about it, but they know that after a rough few days baking cookies or something really helps me decompress. Plus, taking them the baked goods meant that I wouldn’t devour them all in the middle of the night. Did I have a sweet tooth? No. All my teeth were sweet.

“Hey Steph!” I called out as I left the subway and headed to the park.

“Hey Ellie!” she replied with a hug. “I made sure to grab these from the apartment. Can’t have the guys in tears! By the way, I am in love with that blue dress, I’m trying it on after we get back and I can get out of these shorts and tee.”

“Deal and thanks! For bringing the cookies too. Carrying them, plus my gym bag and work stuff would’ve been far too much to handle on the train. And for changing your run.”

“No worries; you need a change of scenery every now and again. Plus, I’m anxious to meet Lee. He sounds pretty dreamy from what you told me. That and the look on his face when he puts two and two together about Ellie from the market and Ellie from the Yankees game.” With that, we both burst out in laughter as we were coming up on the field.

* * *

I looked up from tying my cleats and froze. Grabbing Paul by the shirt, I whispered “That’s HER!”

“Yeah, that’s Ellie, I know” he replied.

“No, that’s the girl from the market. The one I was telling you about. In the blue dress.”

“Lee, that’s Ellie. I’m pretty sure I know one of my best friends.” Paul rolled his eyes and gave me a nudge “come on, let’s see what kind of snack she brought. Oh, and if she doesn’t have anything, give her the sad puppy face. Taylor, Cody and I did it all the time to her back at school and it drove her nuts.”

I stood there trying to process what Paul just said. Was I hallucinating and thinking Ellie was the girl from the market, or was it actually her? Thankfully I was quickly snapped out of it by Cody yelling out “Hey Ellie, hey Steph! Guys, stop being losers and get over here to say hi!”

The other guys and I headed over and my level of embarrassment reached a new level- Ellie was the girl from the market and these guys told her how I felt just two days earlier. I never wanted to jump in the Hudson so badly in all my life. Carl was tied up at the picnic bench where we were meeting up and, just like on Saturday, was going crazy over Ellie. She looked up from petting him and I swear my heart skipped a beat. Never would I have thought I would see the girl from the market again. Now that I know we’re part of the same group of friends, I realized that I may have a shot. Here goes nothing.

* * *

“Hey guys! Lee, good to see you again. This is Steph, my best friend and roommate. Steph, this is Lee.”

“It’s good to see you too. Nice to meet you Steph,” Lee replied.

And then, like clockwork: “So, do have the goods?” Taylor asked, pretending something sketchy was about to go down.

“Yes, you weirdo. Cookies, Chocolate chip. Is that a problem?”

“Nope!” they all chimed in unison.

“Actually, there is one” Paul noted, “I just got off the phone with Andy. His parents flew in for a surprise visit and he’s not going to be able to make it. We’re down one and will have to forfeit. And of all the teams, this was the one I wanted to beat so badly- these guys are such assholes, especially their team captain.” Paul pointed over to the other team’s captain and seeing him, I immediately dug through my bag, finding what I was looking for.

“You’re allowed one sub that’s not on your roster, right?” Paul nodded yes. Pulling out my cleats, I announced “Good because there’s no way in hell I’m letting them win. Give me five seconds to change and I’ll be right back.” I then turned to Steph and whispered, “Look who their Captain is. I’m sorry, but I have to do this.”

“If I was put in the same situation, I would do the same. Consider me your cheering section,” she whispered back.

When I got back, we regrouped and Paul went over to inform the opposing team’s Captain that I would be our fifth. I already had some adrenaline building but hearing the other team laugh about it being ‘so much easier for them to win with a girl on the other team’ made me see red.

The game was going pretty well- we were tied at 14 and even though I hadn’t scored either of our touchdowns, the other team knew that it wasn’t going to be the sweep that they planned for. On the next play, I found myself open and in a good range to score, so Taylor threw the ball to me. As I caught the ball and was coming to land, I was tackled, full on, by the other team’s Captain. He was only a few inches taller than me, but was broad, so when we collided, it hurt. I hit the ground hard and the next thing I saw was Lee running over and shoving the guy off of me. As he and Cody were making sure I wasn’t hurt, Paul and Taylor got into a yelling match with the other team about the hit. I was able to get to my feet relatively quickly with only a couple of scrapes and then quickly called a team huddle. “Guys I’m fine, let’s show them that just because they can take cheap hits doesn’t mean they will win. Taylor, hand the ball to me and let them chase me. I’ll get the touchdown.”

“Are you sure?” Taylor asked. “What if they try to pull something like that again?”

“Trust me.”

That was all they needed. With the snap, Taylor handed me the ball and I took off. As anticipated the other team began running after me and out of the corner of my eye, I saw their Captain coming up. Just as he was about to knock me off my feet, I reached to my side and stiffarmed him. Right in the throat. He went down, our score went up six points, and time hit zero. We won!

As my team rushed around me for a victory dance, Lee asked “How did you know their Captain was going to try that again?”

I shrugged, “Well, Pat, their Captain, and I dated for four months. Apparently the asshat forgot I played rugby” and they all erupted into laughter as Pat and his team came over.

“You think almost knocking me unconscious is funny?! Because I accidently ran into you and you fell down?” Pat yelled at me. “It’s no wonder I dumped you. You’re pathetic and will do anything for the attention.”

I had an idea and, since Pat knew Paul, Taylor and Cody, I turned to Lee. It also helped that he towered above Pat. I mouthed for Lee to follow my lead and he nodded.

Turning to Pat I unleashed that fire I had been holding inside and laughed. “You? You dumped me? If I recall correctly, and I do, I dumped your sorry ass because you couldn’t stay sober for more than three days. You were more concerned with your frat bros than with me, you were lazy, and, quite frankly, a damn embarrassment. This one however,” I walked over and wrapped my arm around Lee’s waist while he draped his arm around my shoulders “is everything you’ll never be. He’s smart, driven, and loving. And did I mention amazing in bed?”

* * *

I don’t know what happened between the two of them, but something Ellie said really set Pat off. His brows furrowed and his face turned bright red. Since Ellie asked me to follow her lead, I had to oblige; I mean I am an actor. So, of course, I did the one thing that would make Pat flip- I pulled Ellie in and I kissed her. Even though it was a fake kiss, feeling her smile against my lips and relax in my arms made my heart speed.

I still had one trick up my sleeve. As we broke the kiss, I turned my head to see Pat even more red than before. Turning back to Ellie, I leaned in “Thank you sweetheart, but I don’t know if this is the appropriate place to talk about how just last night I had you screaming my name in ecstasy for two and a half hours.” She blushed the most beautiful shade of pink and Pat, well after having his jaw hit the proverbial floor, stomped off in a rage.

As the other guys and Steph were about to ask what happened, Ellie turned to them asking “So, who’s up for a drink?”


End file.
